Hundreds of cars were lined up to at least Arbutus Meadows on the southbound lane of Highway 19 on Friday, April 20 due to a crash in the Nanoose Bay area near Hillview Road that caused a huge traffic line-up in both directions for hours from about 4 p.m. into the evening. (ADAM KVETON/Black Press)

The man and a woman were harvesting shellfish at Nanoose flats, at the tidal pool, according to traffic services. They made a U-turn and they turned in front of a tandem axle truck. They were thrown across, the man died instantly and the woman was airlifted by helicopter to Victoria – they were Nanaimo residents.

“I thank the public, those who were patient and understanding,” said Penny. “The RCMP and everyone has to do their investigation to make sure they get it right. They only get one chance to get it right. Some people get rather irate and they take it out on the RCMP and our first responders and all the people that are out there. We don’t want to be out there.”

This is the second fatality in a month in the Nanoose corridor, which traffic services said is a high-risk driving area.